Digital Signage Software for Hotels
Hotels and hospitality suites benefit greatly from digital signage technologies. The use of digital displays and touchscreens is on the rise globally and the hospitality sector represents a major part of that growth.
Here’s why most hotels now use Digital Signage
Strategically positioned touch-enabled displays let hotel visitors access information in lobbies and open areas. While most people travel with some type of mobile device like a smartphone or tablet, touchscreens provide instant access to local weather, news and venue-specific information. To attract viewer’s attention, successful venue owners deploy high-quality hotel digital signage content that is relevant to guests right at the point of decision.
For example, a hotel may provide access to the restaurant menu, feature a list of activities, or display information about the hotel’s amenities (pool, spa, etc.). To top it off, an interactive site map might also be accessible in the hotel lobby, so guests can navigate the site more easily. It’s all about providing a quality experience and making guests feel more welcome.
Information presented on digital displays is controlled by the venue owner inside the digital signage software user interface. Every piece of content is curated and quality controlled. Only programming created by the hotel operator can be shown, which is essential to preserve the brand and ensure the venue is always well represented. The content is delivered using a standardized “look and feel” to further enhance the brand.
Digital displays in hotels
Digital displays are an ideal tool for communicating directly with guests and visitors. Live, real-time messages can be broadcast as needed to ensure guests are always kept informed of hotel and local events. The system can also be used to send out alert notifications in case of fire or other type of emergency. Displays can show plans with the shortest evacuation route as well as other pertinent information.
The same CMS software can manage displays in every part of the site:
- Weatherproof displays outside the hotel can provide useful information to passing traffic. These displays can also be installed in parking areas or around an exterior pool.
- Digital displays can be installed at a restaurant entrance with digital menu boards are located inside QSR locations. Menu items, prices and photography are all managed centrally by in-house staff.
- Touchscreens and interactive kiosks installed in lobbies and common areas are updated from the same CMS software as the rest of the displays.
More interactivity, more opportunities to connect
Touchscreens aren’t the only means to interact with hotel signage. Professional-grade CMS software solutions can be extended to communicate with external devices, sensors and back-office software to create more useful and engaging experiences.
Screens can feature motion sensors, Microsoft Kinect and RFID sensors to detect user interaction. When these technologies are interfaced together, great things can happen. Guests can change the content shown on screen by a wave of the hand or simply by walking in front of a display. Want to make the moment even more memorable? Show your Instagram or Facebook feeds on your displays and let guests post their vacation pictures. This is a great way to engage visitors and build a rapport with your guests.
Social media has emerged as an important content channel that everyone understands which is why it’s important to select a professional-grade CMS that can manage and broadcast this information efficiently.
Add a bit of Las Vegas into your hotel property
Want to see what’s possible with digital signage technologies? Look at the City that Never Sleeps! Las Vegas has become a true digital signage laboratory, where every cutting-edge display technology is used to the fullest.
Learn some of the lessons from the big casinos and apply them to your hotel property.
- Exploit every opportunity to wow your audience. Don’t just install a big flat screen TV in your hotel lobby. Go with a video wall instead. Maximize the impact of the installation with high quality video and animated content. Think of it as a living poster that changes continuously.
- Make every moment memorable. Invest in high quality content and change your content often. Resist the urge to build your own content if you lack adequate resources in-house and can afford some professional design help. If you can’t justify getting custom content, consider professional stock video and photography. There are many resources available at every price point but it’s important to point out, bad content is sometimes worse than no content. Invest wisely.
- Use professional audio-visual equipment specialists for all your installations. Professionals know how to install equipment so it’s secure and tamper-proof. You won’t see any wires hanging everywhere which will make your installation stand-out.
The best installations run on professional Digital Signage software
No digital signage installation is possible without the right CMS software behind it. When selecting a CMS platform to run your display network, make sure you consider every aspect.
Here are some examples:
Look for digital signage software that offers a user-friendly interface that non-technical people can use. This will help your staff get up to speed quickly so there is less time spent learning and more time spent delivering quality content.
Make sure your digital signage software is easy to install and manage. Some products are offered as Cloud based applications. Others products, called On-Premise, require an on-site server and technical staff to perform ongoing maintenance. Look for the type of digital signage software that best matches your needs. For example, a hotel chain may decide to implement an On Premise solution to service many properties where individual hotels may simply be fine with a cloud based system. Note that your budget will also be a determining factor. Cloud based digital signage software is priced on a monthly fee per-player where On Premise CMS licenses are purchased outright. It’s the difference between leasing software and purchasing it so consider both options and pick the one that matches your needs.
Consider digital signage software that features a web-based user dashboard. These solutions tend to be easier to manage as there is no local software to install and maintain on each user’s PC or laptop. Basically, anyone can connect to the system using their web browser and you can even let staff connect from any location where they have internet access. It’s great for people on the go who want to publish content quickly.
Hotels often need to display real-time data from various sources
We’ve already covered social media and the current weather but there is so much more that you can do. For example, you can display airline departure and arrival times, weather alerts, delays and security notifications, shuttle times, taxi phone numbers and more. You will need a digital signage software that is compatible with a wide range of data formats, like RSS and XML feeds. Some professional-grade software will also let you create and host databases locally without any programming or technical knowledge. These are the products that are the most flexible and effective to use.
When considering a digital signage software, it’s important to consider the type of displays and media player hardware the system can support. Hotels can deploy a wide range of displays, from large exterior LED billboards, touchscreens, video walls, all the way down to small Android tablets for meeting room signage. Within this group, you may find displays that are mounted in different orientations (landscape or portrait) and even Smart TVs that include the media player in the display. Look for a digital signage software that can support the widest range of hardware and applications.